2) Minister Mahfud reiterates President's focus on Papua, West Papua
1) Newly elected Timor Leste President Ramos Horta expected to help peacebuilding in Papua
Peacebuilding In Papua - News Desk 25 April 2022
Jayapura, Jubi – Coordinator of the Papuan Observatory for Human Rights (POHR) Thomas Ch. Syufi expressed his hope that Ramos Horta, who recently got re-elected to be the President of Timor Leste on Thursday, April 21, 2022, could help push the Indonesian government to resolve the Papua conflict.
Ramos Horta is a senior Timor Leste politician who has a long track record in international diplomacy to fight for Timor Leste’s independence from Indonesia. Syufi expected Ramos Horta to be able to communicate with figures and diplomats from the United Nations and the Indonesian government regarding peacebuilding in Papua.
“Ramos Horta can encourage the reconciliation of human rights violations and a space for negotiations between the Indonesian government and the Papuan people to achieve a dignified and permanent solution to the conflict in the provinces of Papua and West Papua,” Syufi told Jubi when contacted by telephone on Friday.
Ramos Horta is a moderate leader and winner of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, known for his commitment to finding a peaceful solution to the armed conflict in Timor Leste [formerly East Timor], which was then part of Indonesia.
“Horta has 24 years of experience helping to push for a peaceful resolution of the East Timor conflict with Indonesia, as well as being a Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to Guinea-Bissau and other countries in 2013. Indonesia will believe that Ramos-Horta can help Papua,” said Syufi.
He said the Papuan people support the Indonesian government and ASEAN countries to accept Timor Leste as a member of ASEAN.
Syufi further appreciated the Timor Leste Presidential Election that went peaceful, democratic, honest, and dignified. The general election can be a good example of democracy for other countries, including ASEAN member countries.
"Papua is the region on which the president has emphasised his focus. The president visited other provinces, perhaps, only twice or thrice, but he has visited Papua 14 times," Mahfud noted in his press statement as observed from the Presidential Secretariat YouTube channel on Monday.
The coordinating minister earlier accompanied Jokowi to receive the visit of leaders of the Papua People's Assembly and West Papua People's Assembly at the Merdeka Palace here.
Mahfud remarked that the meeting between the president and the people's assemblies leaders was conducted smoothly, as no new decisions had to be made during the meeting.
During the meeting, Jokowi reiterated his commitment to follow up on the assembly leaders' visit by visiting respective provincial people's assembly offices while visiting the Papua region, he remarked.
"When the president visits Papua later, he will visit the Papua People's Assembly and West Papua People's Assembly offices," Mahfud affirmed.
The coordinating minister noted that the meeting was organised to heed to the people's assemblies leaders' suggestions and aspirations regarding Law No. 21 of 2001 on Special Autonomy Status for Papua Province.
The House of Representatives' plenary session passed the amendment to the Special Autonomy Law on July 17, 2021, to revise seven crucial points in some 20 articles in the law, he noted.
Despite the law having been passed and having a legal force, a judicial review on the revised law is currently ongoing in the Constitutional Court, he added.
"We respect the ongoing legal process, and we will continue to observe the progress, as the legal process would conclude with the Constitutional Court's verdict," Mahfud stated.
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The minister disclosed that the figure was obtained through a presidential survey. He delivered the statement after accompanying President Joko Widodo to welcome the delegations of the Papuan People's Assembly and the West Papuan People's Assembly at the Presidential Palace, here on Monday.
"Agreements or disagreements are normal. Instead (of disagreements), the results of the survey conducted by the presidential institution showed that 82 percent of the Papuan people urge for expansion," he noted as quoted from an official on the Presidential Secretariat's YouTube channel.
The expansion or formation of a new autonomous region in Papua became one of the issues discussed during the president's meeting with the Papua and West Papua delegations.
The president said that the expansion of the new autonomous regions at the provincial level in Papua was a priority based on importance, although there were hundreds of other requests for the creation of new autonomous regions, according to the minister.
Mahfud also said that the president had revealed that as many as 354 requests were received for the creation of new autonomous regions. According to Papua's needs, they would grant permit for the creation of three new provinces.
The minister viewed that clashing opinions were part of the usual dynamics in life. Moreover, in Papua itself, it is not uncommon to see public rallies, either from supporters of the policy or those opposing the idea.
On April 6, 2022, the working committee on the draft law of three Papua New Guinea New Autonomous Areas had been included as the House of Representatives' initiative proposal.
The draft bill touched on the subject of formation of three new autonomous regions at the provincial level from the two currently existing provinces: Papua and West Papua.
Should the bill be ratified as a law, there would be five provinces in Papua comprising Papua Province, West Papua Province, South Papua Province, Central Papua Province, and Central Highlands Papua Province.
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